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European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging

Published in:

01-08-2010

Imaging of perfusion using ultrasound

Authors: David Cosgrove, Nathalie Lassau

Published in: European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging | Special Issue 1/2010

Abstract

Ultrasound can be used to image perfusion in two ways: the traditional one using Doppler and the more recent using microbubble contrast agents. Doppler is simple to use and inexpensive but is limited to larger vessels with faster flow rates. It cannot interrogate the microvasculature because bulk tissue movement is faster than capillary flow. It has been used for liver and tumour flow. Contrast studies are much richer and can assess both the macro- and microcirculation. One approach analyses the time-intensity curves in a region of interest, e.g. a tumour, myocardium, brain, following bolus i.v. injection. Another approach measures the time taken for the microbubbles to cross a vascular bed of interest. These arrival times can be useful for the liver in both diffuse and focal diseases and for the kidney. Features derived from time-intensity curves following bolus i.v. injections of microbubbles form sensitive early indicators of the vascular response of tumours to antivascular drugs. This approach, known as dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasound (DCE-US), has been accepted as a valid technique for monitoring tumour response by several authorities.

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Title: Imaging of perfusion using ultrasound
Authors: David Cosgrove
Nathalie Lassau
Publication date: 01-08-2010
Publisher: Springer-Verlag
Published in: European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging / Issue Special Issue 1/2010
Print ISSN: 1619-7070
Electronic ISSN: 1619-7089
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-010-1537-7

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Imaging of perfusion using ultrasound

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